with the launch of mini chocolate malteser Easter bunnies (a personal favourite I must add…), it goes without saying that the chocolate malteser cake should be unveiled. A spongy chocolate cake with buttercream icing perfectly whipped up with horlicks and cocoa, you’ll not stop at only one slice…serve it up and everyone will be asking for the recipe!
 

Makes 8-10 slices

 
For the cake
150g soft brown sugar (muscavado sugar is best for flavour)
100g caster sugar
3 large eggs
175ml milk
15g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Horlicks powder
175g plain flour
25g cocoa, sieved
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda


For the icing and decoration
250g icing sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa
45g Horlicks
125g soft unsalted butter
2 tablespoons boiling water
2 x 37g packets Maltesers (plus extra to nibble on whilst making..)


Take whatever you need out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature (though it’s not so crucial here, since you’re heating the milk and butter and whisking the eggs).
2 Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas Mark 3. Butter and line two 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich cake tins with baking parchment.
3 Whisk together the sugars and eggs until light and frothy. Heat the milk, butter and Horlicks powder in a small saucepan until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Beat the milk mixture into the eggs a little at a time. Fold in the dry ingredients thoroughly. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, by which time the cakes should have risen and will spring back when pressed gently. (They will look like the need longer but are naturally airy and spongy to the touch) Let them cool on a rack for about 5-10 minutes and then turn them out of their tins.4 Once the cakes are cold, you can get on with the icing. I use a processor just because it makes life easier: you don’t need to sieve the icing sugar. So, put the icing sugar, cocoa and Horlicks in the processor and blitz to remove all lumps. Add the butter and process again. Stop, scrape down, and start again, pouring the boiling water down the funnel with the motor running until you have a smooth buttercream.
5 Sandwich the cold sponges with half of the buttercream.
 
Icing Methods (I used option 2)
1 Ice the top and sides with what is left, creating a swirly pattern rather than a smooth surface. Place a ring of Maltesers around the top of the cake or use them to decorate the top in which-ever way pleases you.
2 Ice the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of icing for the ‘ruffles’ to adhere to. Then follow this video here to perfect your ruffle technique!
 
Taken from Feast by Nigella Lawson

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